You know, these are the first clear and understandable ideas on dealing with the US that I have heard in a long time. Trudeau, Freeland and the rest of the Liberal freeloaders may think of themselves as progressive but I see them as weak, wimps and woke. Stupid would not be too strong a word. Mr. O'Toole you deserve to be in the next federal government (or provincial) to be a clear-headed vocal leader in this regard.
"As a friend, disagreements with the U.S. administration should be shared behind closed doors and not on social media for posturing to political groups in Canada."
I would normally agree, but that completely ignores Trump's unwritten rule that *everything* should be done on social media, including firing his own people. We need to fight back publicly, because that is all he understands. We need to fight fire with fire against bullies like him.
Remember: Trump did not talk with Canada behind closed doors about his problems with the border. He came out on social media to attack us publicly. Why does any Canadian government of any political persuasion have to be different? Why is Trump above all laws and norms?
He is in a more dominant position from a negotiation standpoint, which when combined with his style puts us at a disadvantage. Knowing this and planning accordingly means we can be win by being smart. Tee up 'wins' for him that are actually wins for us - energy and security are both in our shared interests.
I respectfully disagree, because norms do not apply to Trump. If we give in to him on his current issues, he will just come back later with more demands. It will be never-ending if we do not hit back at him. We might as well be another U.S. state like he "joked" (and which Danielle Smith called "hilarious").
Just look at how we were nice to him when he wanted to tear up NAFTA. We got CUSMA out of it, but now he already wants to ignore it and put tariffs on us. So CUSMA is no longer worth the paper on which it is printed. We just put off the pain for a few more years. If we kiss his ring again, we might appease him temporarily, but he will just come back after us again in a few months. And unlike with the NAFTA renegotiations, he now has people under him who will not try to talk him out of his worst impulses.
Again, normally a trade war benefits no one, but with Trump, it will actually lessen the harm that will come with giving up our sovereignty to him.
Give a mouse a cookie, and he will ask for a glass of milk.
I think Trump is posturing at this point to finesse two objectives . One will involve getting Mexico out of USMCA due to the back door Chinese infiltration of auto parts in Mexico and other manufacturing interests they hold in that country. Coupled with the border and drug problems related to Mexico it is a far bigger problem. By including Canada in the 25% tariff Trump appears to not be singling out Mexico.
There are a few other areas Trump is maybe deliberately overlooking. One is a preferred customer rate for our oil. The other is the vast amount of natural resources Canada holds that can reduce the dependency on Chinese imports like lithium. In order to crack open these interests to U S investments, Trump is using tariffs on. manufactured goods as the key. There is our fiscal support of CAF and resulting under participation in NATO & NORD & the arctic. We must do better. Finally there’s our refugee situation. Too many too fast and we are moving on this but it is a concern. Trudeau had an easy ride with Biden, clinging to virtue signaling DEI talking points and ignore basic governance. Trump is the result of Biden just as Poilievre will be the result of Trudeau. I’m hoping Parliament will see reason and force an election soon. Trump/Poilievre negotiation will be best for us.
I agree. Canada is much more dependent on the US than the US is on Canada. The public speeches of our Prime Minister and Minister of Finance after Trump made his tariff threat weren't helpful.
Yes I can see the Leader of the CPC caving into all of Trump's desires. The present CPC leader is a joke who cheated to get that position. But maybe they will be good buddies throwing meaningless slogans back and forth. I can see Canada getting sold down the road. When we had the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, they did the best for Canada. CPC is against everything even policy they ran on themselves.
I remember how trump through Canada under the bus without a qualm, instigating the Huawei fiasco. Trudeau's timid response that "dialogue" would get the two Michaels out of captivity was laughable and humiliating, for me at least. IMHO, your suggestions are good because Canadians too would like to see more spent on protecting our North, defense, etc, not just trump. But...could we add some leverage to our side? I admit I admire Mexico's feisty response! In the end they'll work something out with the US but they're coming at it through a position of power, not hand-washing sychophancy.
The CPC must do something for the ordinary Canadian instead of the elites; end supply side management and quotas, make basic food affordable for all of us. Don't just govern for the Laurentian elite, as the Liberals do,otherwise all we will do is elect a party with a different color tie.
Thanks Erin. I read your points with interest. And as a progressive, I do have to admit that the current government has not done great work between the negotiation of the last agreement and now, both in terms of the relationship with right wing American politicians, but also helping reduce trade barriers inside Canada. Now that Trump is elected its too late to diversify our economy and our trade, but I do think that is work that should start tomorrow.
As an ex leader of a national political party, can you shed some light in why interprovincial barriers remain? Why are we still an economy so dependant on resource extraction. I don't absolve the Liberals, but these are problems long in the making.
I respectfully disagree about investing in Keystone. I recognize that the current political context is very fossil fuel friendly, but I fear in ten years that we will be paying for an asset that is no longer useful.
The asset will pay for itself within a decade AND help forge reliance on energy security which will increasingly include lower carbon electricity. Sadly, the provinces and an old poor decision from the Supreme Court of Canada has held back inter-provincial free trade, but I think it will come soon.
Canada needs to act like a middle power and play the bigger fish off each other — that means working with China and India regardless of actions we disagree with. There are lots of actions our American neighbours have committed which are as bad if not worse than what China or India have done. China and India would love our resources so it is foolish to admonish them when it damages our own interests.
If we do not create leverage against The United States we will always have to bend to their will — which is foolish and goes against the interests of Canada and our people.
Geography is destiny and Canada has some of the best geography globally — but we lack the ambition or the capacity to play the great game (geopolitics) well. Until we change course, Canada will always be getting the stick from the bigger fish with no recourse. I do not expect us to change course anytime soon — so we will continue to be America’s bitch to be blunt — which is sad for a land as glorious as Canada (and a people who are just as glorious and deserve far better from our leadership).
Canada can be one of the great nations of the 21st century — but we need to be ambitious and bold — sadly I don’t see that door opening for some time as The West as a whole is heading down a dark rabbit whole that is WW3 (WW3 started in Ukraine as theatre #1; expanded to The Middle East which is theatre #2; theatre #3 will be the largest by far in Asia — likely started by China invading Taiwan — which is ‘inevitable ‘according to The Chinese leader Xi). Canada would be wise to avoid WW3 entirely and work on putting out our own fires — but we likely are not that wise due to poor quality leadership.
The Western dilemma as a whole is two main items:
1) The West has a bad hand — primarily due to debt; which creates the first dilemma: great captains don’t captain sinking ships. Until we have a new system I don’t expect great captains to emerge for The West.
2) The best poker player in the world with a bad hand will still lose; The West has a bad hand so even if we get quality leadership, I fear we are still in trouble due to a bad hand which is a product of bad systems and high debt levels.
Better days are ahead for The West and Canada, but first we must go down the deep, dark rabbit hole that is WW3. Buckle up my friends as the road ahead is going to be very bumpy and chaotic as we likely witness late stage nationalism. The bright side is chaos will bring change and open the door to new systems which are worthy of the 21st century (a system made in the 21st century for the 21st century).
The arc of humanity and civilization is unification and a global system is coming — but we must grind through late stage nationalism via WW3 before the door opens to a global system.
Thanks for your perspective Erin. We are indeed living in interesting times. Are there lessons in history? Many. Are situations changing - yes. Our current government has experience with Trump 101. However, much has changed including the to-be-confimed team Trump 2025. This will have significant impact compared to T101. Yes, our countries share the same border, but there are more Snow-birds crossing the border south than alien immigrants. (a huge contribution to a number of State economies) Guns cross the border from the US to Canada. Drugs are crossing the border - many from other countries into Canada. Trade between our countries is significant.
Yes, Canada should be investing more in our military given increasing tensions and threats to democracy. (I recall Harper's visit to Nanisivik, Nunavut - his 1st time in Canada's Arctic - just before his government issued a 10% cut to all government departments. Of course this was after cutting funding for science with Bill C-38.
None-the-less, climate change is happening and Canada is warming which is changing much. Winter ice roads in provinces/territories that depend on this access for transportation of supply goods to communities have a shorter life-span if even possible these days. Melting permafrost is affecting existing building foundations and streets in arctic communities. Ice in the Arctic ocean is also changing (melting) - potentially impacting shipping.
Should Canada's focus be in supporting the O&G industry with the same "Drill baby drill" enthusiasm spouted by Trump? There are ~6000 products produced from O&G. We drive EVs with rubber tires and although not made exclusively from oil, to produce one tire, the process uses seven gallons of oil. But, ships on Arctic waters don't need tires. (It's necessary to start connecting-the-dots here.)
Canada needs innovation - 6000 products to replace with other product inputs. Canada needs more inter-provincial trade. What's holding us back??
Please be reminded folks ... Harper endorsed Trump. Harper is 'warm' to Orban, Hungary's autocratic leader.
Politics aside ... PMJT and Cabinet behave like adults and communicate/act accordingly. Trump behaves as an aged 'toddler' with an exceptional need for attention. Unfortunately, Canada's "leader" of the Opposition displays similar Trumpian toddler behaviour.
Yes, we can (and do) offer all manner of advice. Global economies are complex. We are, by virtual of population size - a small player/influencer - but by geography and location a significant player. Let's not 'blow' our advantage. Can we put aside 'toddler' behaviour and come together as a country to work together for our collective advantage??
Excellent suggestions Erin. Border security would be another big one and ensuring our Canadian and US teams work together on border issues, as was intended , when new approaches were brought in during the Chretien years. And lastly show, that we can be a competent member of the five eyes and can be trusted on international security.
Excellent suggestions Erin. Border security would be another big one and ensuring our Canadian and US teams work together on border issues, as was intended , when new approaches were brought in during the Chretien years. And lastly show, that we can be a competent member of the five eyes and can be trusted on international security.
This is a well timed opinion piece and is a stark reminder of the curious (read: amateur hour) tendencies of the Trudeau Liberals to sermonize trade negotiations with generous dollops of woke nonsense. It didn’t work with China and it didn’t work with the US and Mexico. Ambushing the popular Italian Prime Minister with the woke nonsense didn’t help matters either for retaining a credible voice in international circles.
The Liberals are given lots of credit for successfully negotiating a revised trade agreement with the US and Mexico, but the truth is that Canada was outflanked by two other countries that stuck to their knitting and brokered a deal without any of the woke nonsense. Take it or leave it isn’t exactly a successful trade negotiation. Canada survived the tense period but you can bet that this new round of talks will have a different approach, and if Canadians can catch a break, the Trudeau government will be an afterthought and we will have serious people in charge.
Serious rational adult thinkers are a MUST! Flaunting Trudeau and sermonizing Freeland are annoying at the kiddies table during supper! We need astute negotiators putting Canada FIRST.
We have trillions of liabilities due to funding a war that isn’t ours and a number of immigrants who hopefully are employed learning our languages paying income tax. Housing is a big must, woke ideology is NOT!
We are just treading water until CPC retakes the wheel reverse inane policies, reduce liability embracing energy again and build build build reducing the homeless and tent villages bringing in Canadian pride. Trudeau has shamed taken a knee way too much for photo ops.
Bring in CPC Poilievre to sit at the adult table taking over Canada financially promoting our strengths and pride!! #Carbon tax election NOW!
When all is said and done, Trump likes to bully Trudeau not just because he can but because Ivanka has a liking to Justin. When Pierre is PM, he needs to stand up and hold his own against Trump
The policy issues were relevant 20 years ago and today. They are not 'ideas' but reality. We can and must collaborate on specific trade and security issues with our closest ally and neighbour whether or not the politicians themselves get along. Find common cause for the public good.
You know, these are the first clear and understandable ideas on dealing with the US that I have heard in a long time. Trudeau, Freeland and the rest of the Liberal freeloaders may think of themselves as progressive but I see them as weak, wimps and woke. Stupid would not be too strong a word. Mr. O'Toole you deserve to be in the next federal government (or provincial) to be a clear-headed vocal leader in this regard.
"As a friend, disagreements with the U.S. administration should be shared behind closed doors and not on social media for posturing to political groups in Canada."
I would normally agree, but that completely ignores Trump's unwritten rule that *everything* should be done on social media, including firing his own people. We need to fight back publicly, because that is all he understands. We need to fight fire with fire against bullies like him.
Remember: Trump did not talk with Canada behind closed doors about his problems with the border. He came out on social media to attack us publicly. Why does any Canadian government of any political persuasion have to be different? Why is Trump above all laws and norms?
He is in a more dominant position from a negotiation standpoint, which when combined with his style puts us at a disadvantage. Knowing this and planning accordingly means we can be win by being smart. Tee up 'wins' for him that are actually wins for us - energy and security are both in our shared interests.
I respectfully disagree, because norms do not apply to Trump. If we give in to him on his current issues, he will just come back later with more demands. It will be never-ending if we do not hit back at him. We might as well be another U.S. state like he "joked" (and which Danielle Smith called "hilarious").
Just look at how we were nice to him when he wanted to tear up NAFTA. We got CUSMA out of it, but now he already wants to ignore it and put tariffs on us. So CUSMA is no longer worth the paper on which it is printed. We just put off the pain for a few more years. If we kiss his ring again, we might appease him temporarily, but he will just come back after us again in a few months. And unlike with the NAFTA renegotiations, he now has people under him who will not try to talk him out of his worst impulses.
Again, normally a trade war benefits no one, but with Trump, it will actually lessen the harm that will come with giving up our sovereignty to him.
Give a mouse a cookie, and he will ask for a glass of milk.
I think Trump is posturing at this point to finesse two objectives . One will involve getting Mexico out of USMCA due to the back door Chinese infiltration of auto parts in Mexico and other manufacturing interests they hold in that country. Coupled with the border and drug problems related to Mexico it is a far bigger problem. By including Canada in the 25% tariff Trump appears to not be singling out Mexico.
There are a few other areas Trump is maybe deliberately overlooking. One is a preferred customer rate for our oil. The other is the vast amount of natural resources Canada holds that can reduce the dependency on Chinese imports like lithium. In order to crack open these interests to U S investments, Trump is using tariffs on. manufactured goods as the key. There is our fiscal support of CAF and resulting under participation in NATO & NORD & the arctic. We must do better. Finally there’s our refugee situation. Too many too fast and we are moving on this but it is a concern. Trudeau had an easy ride with Biden, clinging to virtue signaling DEI talking points and ignore basic governance. Trump is the result of Biden just as Poilievre will be the result of Trudeau. I’m hoping Parliament will see reason and force an election soon. Trump/Poilievre negotiation will be best for us.
I agree. Canada is much more dependent on the US than the US is on Canada. The public speeches of our Prime Minister and Minister of Finance after Trump made his tariff threat weren't helpful.
Yes I can see the Leader of the CPC caving into all of Trump's desires. The present CPC leader is a joke who cheated to get that position. But maybe they will be good buddies throwing meaningless slogans back and forth. I can see Canada getting sold down the road. When we had the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, they did the best for Canada. CPC is against everything even policy they ran on themselves.
I remember how trump through Canada under the bus without a qualm, instigating the Huawei fiasco. Trudeau's timid response that "dialogue" would get the two Michaels out of captivity was laughable and humiliating, for me at least. IMHO, your suggestions are good because Canadians too would like to see more spent on protecting our North, defense, etc, not just trump. But...could we add some leverage to our side? I admit I admire Mexico's feisty response! In the end they'll work something out with the US but they're coming at it through a position of power, not hand-washing sychophancy.
It would be interesting if someone wrote on this relationship using a spousal abuse analogy.
The CPC must do something for the ordinary Canadian instead of the elites; end supply side management and quotas, make basic food affordable for all of us. Don't just govern for the Laurentian elite, as the Liberals do,otherwise all we will do is elect a party with a different color tie.
Thanks Erin. I read your points with interest. And as a progressive, I do have to admit that the current government has not done great work between the negotiation of the last agreement and now, both in terms of the relationship with right wing American politicians, but also helping reduce trade barriers inside Canada. Now that Trump is elected its too late to diversify our economy and our trade, but I do think that is work that should start tomorrow.
As an ex leader of a national political party, can you shed some light in why interprovincial barriers remain? Why are we still an economy so dependant on resource extraction. I don't absolve the Liberals, but these are problems long in the making.
I respectfully disagree about investing in Keystone. I recognize that the current political context is very fossil fuel friendly, but I fear in ten years that we will be paying for an asset that is no longer useful.
Thanks!
The asset will pay for itself within a decade AND help forge reliance on energy security which will increasingly include lower carbon electricity. Sadly, the provinces and an old poor decision from the Supreme Court of Canada has held back inter-provincial free trade, but I think it will come soon.
Canada needs to act like a middle power and play the bigger fish off each other — that means working with China and India regardless of actions we disagree with. There are lots of actions our American neighbours have committed which are as bad if not worse than what China or India have done. China and India would love our resources so it is foolish to admonish them when it damages our own interests.
If we do not create leverage against The United States we will always have to bend to their will — which is foolish and goes against the interests of Canada and our people.
Geography is destiny and Canada has some of the best geography globally — but we lack the ambition or the capacity to play the great game (geopolitics) well. Until we change course, Canada will always be getting the stick from the bigger fish with no recourse. I do not expect us to change course anytime soon — so we will continue to be America’s bitch to be blunt — which is sad for a land as glorious as Canada (and a people who are just as glorious and deserve far better from our leadership).
Canada can be one of the great nations of the 21st century — but we need to be ambitious and bold — sadly I don’t see that door opening for some time as The West as a whole is heading down a dark rabbit whole that is WW3 (WW3 started in Ukraine as theatre #1; expanded to The Middle East which is theatre #2; theatre #3 will be the largest by far in Asia — likely started by China invading Taiwan — which is ‘inevitable ‘according to The Chinese leader Xi). Canada would be wise to avoid WW3 entirely and work on putting out our own fires — but we likely are not that wise due to poor quality leadership.
The Western dilemma as a whole is two main items:
1) The West has a bad hand — primarily due to debt; which creates the first dilemma: great captains don’t captain sinking ships. Until we have a new system I don’t expect great captains to emerge for The West.
2) The best poker player in the world with a bad hand will still lose; The West has a bad hand so even if we get quality leadership, I fear we are still in trouble due to a bad hand which is a product of bad systems and high debt levels.
Better days are ahead for The West and Canada, but first we must go down the deep, dark rabbit hole that is WW3. Buckle up my friends as the road ahead is going to be very bumpy and chaotic as we likely witness late stage nationalism. The bright side is chaos will bring change and open the door to new systems which are worthy of the 21st century (a system made in the 21st century for the 21st century).
The arc of humanity and civilization is unification and a global system is coming — but we must grind through late stage nationalism via WW3 before the door opens to a global system.
Thanks for your perspective Erin. We are indeed living in interesting times. Are there lessons in history? Many. Are situations changing - yes. Our current government has experience with Trump 101. However, much has changed including the to-be-confimed team Trump 2025. This will have significant impact compared to T101. Yes, our countries share the same border, but there are more Snow-birds crossing the border south than alien immigrants. (a huge contribution to a number of State economies) Guns cross the border from the US to Canada. Drugs are crossing the border - many from other countries into Canada. Trade between our countries is significant.
Yes, Canada should be investing more in our military given increasing tensions and threats to democracy. (I recall Harper's visit to Nanisivik, Nunavut - his 1st time in Canada's Arctic - just before his government issued a 10% cut to all government departments. Of course this was after cutting funding for science with Bill C-38.
None-the-less, climate change is happening and Canada is warming which is changing much. Winter ice roads in provinces/territories that depend on this access for transportation of supply goods to communities have a shorter life-span if even possible these days. Melting permafrost is affecting existing building foundations and streets in arctic communities. Ice in the Arctic ocean is also changing (melting) - potentially impacting shipping.
Should Canada's focus be in supporting the O&G industry with the same "Drill baby drill" enthusiasm spouted by Trump? There are ~6000 products produced from O&G. We drive EVs with rubber tires and although not made exclusively from oil, to produce one tire, the process uses seven gallons of oil. But, ships on Arctic waters don't need tires. (It's necessary to start connecting-the-dots here.)
Canada needs innovation - 6000 products to replace with other product inputs. Canada needs more inter-provincial trade. What's holding us back??
Please be reminded folks ... Harper endorsed Trump. Harper is 'warm' to Orban, Hungary's autocratic leader.
Politics aside ... PMJT and Cabinet behave like adults and communicate/act accordingly. Trump behaves as an aged 'toddler' with an exceptional need for attention. Unfortunately, Canada's "leader" of the Opposition displays similar Trumpian toddler behaviour.
Yes, we can (and do) offer all manner of advice. Global economies are complex. We are, by virtual of population size - a small player/influencer - but by geography and location a significant player. Let's not 'blow' our advantage. Can we put aside 'toddler' behaviour and come together as a country to work together for our collective advantage??
Excellent suggestions Erin. Border security would be another big one and ensuring our Canadian and US teams work together on border issues, as was intended , when new approaches were brought in during the Chretien years. And lastly show, that we can be a competent member of the five eyes and can be trusted on international security.
Excellent suggestions Erin. Border security would be another big one and ensuring our Canadian and US teams work together on border issues, as was intended , when new approaches were brought in during the Chretien years. And lastly show, that we can be a competent member of the five eyes and can be trusted on international security.
Wayne Easter
This is a well timed opinion piece and is a stark reminder of the curious (read: amateur hour) tendencies of the Trudeau Liberals to sermonize trade negotiations with generous dollops of woke nonsense. It didn’t work with China and it didn’t work with the US and Mexico. Ambushing the popular Italian Prime Minister with the woke nonsense didn’t help matters either for retaining a credible voice in international circles.
The Liberals are given lots of credit for successfully negotiating a revised trade agreement with the US and Mexico, but the truth is that Canada was outflanked by two other countries that stuck to their knitting and brokered a deal without any of the woke nonsense. Take it or leave it isn’t exactly a successful trade negotiation. Canada survived the tense period but you can bet that this new round of talks will have a different approach, and if Canadians can catch a break, the Trudeau government will be an afterthought and we will have serious people in charge.
Serious rational adult thinkers are a MUST! Flaunting Trudeau and sermonizing Freeland are annoying at the kiddies table during supper! We need astute negotiators putting Canada FIRST.
We have trillions of liabilities due to funding a war that isn’t ours and a number of immigrants who hopefully are employed learning our languages paying income tax. Housing is a big must, woke ideology is NOT!
We are just treading water until CPC retakes the wheel reverse inane policies, reduce liability embracing energy again and build build build reducing the homeless and tent villages bringing in Canadian pride. Trudeau has shamed taken a knee way too much for photo ops.
Bring in CPC Poilievre to sit at the adult table taking over Canada financially promoting our strengths and pride!! #Carbon tax election NOW!
When all is said and done, Trump likes to bully Trudeau not just because he can but because Ivanka has a liking to Justin. When Pierre is PM, he needs to stand up and hold his own against Trump
The ideas being outlined in this piece are from 20 years ago? I believe it, and I’m embarrassed…
The policy issues were relevant 20 years ago and today. They are not 'ideas' but reality. We can and must collaborate on specific trade and security issues with our closest ally and neighbour whether or not the politicians themselves get along. Find common cause for the public good.
That won’t happen with Polievre or any other Stephen Harper meat puppet.
Your opinion makes more sense than what PP has to say